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BUREAU OF MINES 
INFORMATION CIRCULAR/1989 

°\0 




Reducing Miner Absenteeism 



By Robert H. Peters, Mark R. Clingan, 
and Robert F. Randolph 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 



Information Circular 9219 



Reducing Miner Absenteeism 



By Robert H. Peters, Mark R. Clingan, 
and Robert F. Randolph 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
Manuel J. Lujan, Jr., Secretary 

BUREAU OF MINES 
T S Ary, Director 



no.<?oi<) 



Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 



Peters, Robert H. 

Reducing miner absenteeism. 

(Information circular/Bureau of Mines; 9219) 

Bibliography: p. 22-23 

Supt. of Docs, no.: 128.27:9219 

1. Absenteeism (Labor) — United States. 2. Coal miners — United States. I. Clingan, Mark 
R. II. Randolph, Robert F. III. Title. IV. Series: Information circular (United States. Bureau of 
Mines) ; 9219 



-"FN295.U4 [HD5119.M6152U6] 622 s 88-600339 [622'.334'0683] 



CONTENTS 



Page 

Abstract 1 

Introduction 2 

Strategies for reducing absenteeism 2 

Improving employment procedures 2 

Overcoming inability problems 3 

Physical health problems 3 

Mental health problems 3 

Occupational hazards 3 

Transportation problems 4 

Overcoming motivational problems 4 

Training 4 

Training for supervisors 4 

Training for employees 5 

Posting attendance information 5 

Job enrichment 5 

Wage and benefit levels 5 

Incentive programs 6 

Positive incentive programs 6 

Negative sanctions 6 

Mixed consequence plans 7 

Participation in incentive plan design 7 

Current practices 8 



Page 

Program for improving miners attendance 8 

Measure and display data 9 

Individual level charts 9 

Aggregating across individuals 9 

State goals and absenteeism policy 12 

Goal setting 12 

Negative Sanctions 12 

Develop and implement attendance promotion 

program 14 

Supervisory intervention 14 

Publicly chart attendance 14 

Treating employees reasonably 17 

Monitor and refer employees for problems 17 

Summary 17 

Positive incentives 17 

Size and timing of rewards 18 

Choosing criterion 18 

Choosing reward 18 

Scheduling reward 20 

Recycle 20 

Summary and conclusions 21 

References 22 

Appendix. — Linear modeling: Statistical attendance 

management tool 24 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

1 . Number of EAP clients experiencing various types of problems during years 1 980-83 4 

2. Absences recorded over 6-month period for hypothetical mining crew 10 

3. Absences recorded over same period as figure 2 for crew with different absence patterns 11 

4. Attendance chart for hypothetical 6-month period with significant events indicated 13 

5. Chart showing daily attendance recording for hypothetical mine crew during 1 -month period 15 

6. Same chart as figure 5, only with absences rather than attendance indicated 16 

7. Attendance tally chart for same period as figure 5 19 

A- 1 . Daily mine attendance fluctuations for statistical attendance modeling example 24 

A-2. Computer output from regression analysis of example data 27 



TABLES 



A-l. Suggested sources of data for statistical attendance control 25 

A-2. Data used in attendance modeling example 26 



UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT 

pet percent 

yr year 



d/yr 


day per year 


mg 


milligram 


mg/d 


milligram per day 



REDUCING MINER ABSENTEEISM 

By Robert H. Peters, 1 Mark R. Clingan, 2 and Robert F. Randolph 



ABSTRACT 

The U.S. Bureau of Mines has prepared this report on strategies for maintaining high job 
attendance among underground coal miners because high absenteeism is a threat to miners 
safety and seriously hampers productivity. A substantial number of research studies on the 
effectiveness of various strategies for reducing absenteeism among the employees of 
nonmining industries have been reported in the literature. These strategies have aimed at 
improving job attendance through one or more of the following: (1) improving employment 
procedures, (2) overcoming problems that adversely affect one's ability to attend work, and 
(3) increasing miners motivation to attend work. Many of these strategies appear applicable 
to the mining industry, and are reviewed in the first half of this report. The second half of this 
report describes how one could develop and implement a program for maintaining high 
attendance at underground coal mines. The steps include: measuring and evaluating 
attendance levels; formulating attendance goals and an absenteeism policy; developing and 
implementing an attendance promotion program; and periodically going through the 
preceding steps known as recycling. 

1 Research psychologist, Pittsburgh Research Center, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, PA. 

2 Educational psychologist, Product Research, Inc., Feasterville, PA. 

3 Research psychologist, Pittsburgh Research Center. 



INTRODUCTION 



The Bureau of Mines has prepared this report describing 
strategies for minimizing absenteeism among coal miners 
because (1) absenteeism appears to be an important deterrent 
to mine safety and efficiency (1, 10, 39, 57), A and (2) there 
appear to be several effective strategies for achieving high 
attendance, which mine operators may not have considered. 

Although estimates for the rate of absenteeism in the 
mining industry vary, most sources suggest that it is high 
relative to other industries. Based on attendance data collected 
in May 1978 and 1980, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 
reported that among all major U.S. (nonfarming) industries, 
mining was the highest in terms of the proportion of hours lost 
to absences (49, 52). Given current high rates of unemploy- 
ment in the mining industry, absence rates in the late 1980's are 
probably not as high as they were in the preceding decade. The 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 1985 survey found that 
absenteeism in the mining industry was 3.6 pet, which is lower 
than the corresponding percentage for 1980 by 1.8 percentage 
points (57). Although the problem is not as widespread today 
as it once was, it still exists, and will continue to come back to 
haunt the mining industry from time to time until mine 
managers learn better methods for controlling it. 

It is inevitable that members of underground coal mining 
crews will occasionally be absent. Sometimes the crew will 
work without a replacement, but usually someone is assigned 
to fill in for the missing miner. In either case, production and 
safety problems become more likely. 

Underground coal miners work in a relatively hazardous 
environment, and the jobs they perform are relatively interde- 
pendent. The entire production process can be stopped if any 
of several critical activities are not performed properly. Tem- 
porary replacements for regular crew members are relatively 
unfamiliar with the habits of the people who work in the crew 
and the physical conditions and equipment in the section. 



Consequently, temporary replacements often either do things 
(or fail to do things) that can reduce productivity and contrib- 
ute to accidents. 

There appears to be much speculation about how one 
should attack the problem of miners absenteeism. Two exam- 
ples are as follows: 

What we need is motivation, and money doesn't have 
the motivational power it used to have. If a man can take 
care of his needs on $7 an hour in four days, raising his 
pay to $10 won't motivate him to work five days. And the 
threat of firing doesn't do much good. You discipline in 
hopes of improving attendance, hoping the message will 
get across to the other employees, but usually it doesn't 
work. In 1976 you have to treat people differently than 
you did in 1936. You can't always be cracking the whip. It 
just doesn't work (57). 

Absenteeism should be seen and treated as a symptom, 
not the disease. Like medical symptoms, absenteeism may 
be telling management something is wrong. To suppress 
the symptom may mask a problem that needs manage- 
ment attention. Therefore, the approach to an absentee 
program should be to reward good work habits rather 
than to punish poor work habits (1). 
There is almost no empirical evidence concerning the 
effectiveness of interventions that might reduce miners absen- 
teeism. However, a substantial amount of research has been 
conducted to determine the effectiveness of various strategies 
which have been used to reduce absenteeism in nonmining 
industries. The first half of this report discusses the research 
evidence concerning these strategies. Then, based on this 
evidence and what is known about absenteeism in the under- 
ground coal mining industry, the second half of this report 
proposes some guidelines concerning the development and 
implementation of programs to improve miners attendance. 



STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING ABSENTEEISM 



According to Goodman (10), the major determinants of 
absenteeism vary significantly from one group of miners to 
another. Furthermore, the best strategies for reducing absen- 
teeism vary with the causes of the absenteeism, making it 
important to choose strategies that fit the major causes. Peters 
(39) reviewed the various causes of employee absenteeism, and 
proposed a model of the major determinants of miners 
absenteeism. Their model, like several others that have been 
proposed in the literature on employee absenteeism, assumes 
that at the most basic level, all absenteeism stems from either 
a lack of ability or a lack of motivation or some combination 
of the two. 

The strategies available for reducing miners absenteeism 
can be divided into three major categories. One category of 
strategies is concerned with overcoming problems that some- 
times make miners unable to attend work. A second major 
category of strategies deals with techniques for increasing 
miners motivation to attend work. The remaining category of 
strategies concerns the reduction of absenteeism through im- 
proving employment procedures. This strategy seems to be 
appropriate in the widest variety of situations, and is discussed 
first. 



4 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references preceding 
the appendix at the end of this report. 



IMPROVING EMPLOYMENT PROCEDURES 

Several experts have suggested that the mining industry 
should consider improving the process of hiring new employees 
(10, 50, 57). Two ways to improve the hiring process are to (1) 
examine prospective new employees' prior attendance records, 
and (2) provide them with realistic job previews. 

Research by Breaugh (5) and Keller (21) suggests that 
prospective employees' prior attendance records should be 
given some consideration in selection decisions. Both studies 
found that employees' prior absenteeism was a statistically 
significant predictor of their future absenteeism. Thus, it 
appears that prior attendance records could be a very simple, 
but effective device for evaluating the propensity for prospec- 
tive employees to be absent. 

Each company should be able to demonstrate that the 
employee selection devices it uses are valid, i.e., the criteria 
used to select applicants for employment do in fact reliably 
discriminate between applicants who will perform at an ac- 
ceptable level versus those who will not. Without suitable 
evidence (as defined by Equal Employment Opportunity Com- 
mission (EEOC) laws) the company may have difficulty de- 
fending against claims of unfair hiring practices. 

Realistic job previews can be a complementary mechanism 
to good selection practices. Not a single technique, the realistic 



job preview is rather a philosophy or approach. The goals of 
the preview are (1) to ensure a good match between the 
capabilities and needs of the applicant, and the requirements 
of the job and company (including attendance policies); and 
(2) to be sure that the applicant has a good picture of both the 
positive and negative aspects of the job (54). It is assumed that 
giving candidates and newcomers accurate and complete infor- 
mation will result in better matching of jobs to candidates, and 
better matching will result in increased satisfaction and com- 
mitment, and lower turnover and absenteeism. The realistic 
information could be transmitted to miners through booklets, 
films, mine tours, video tapes, realistic work samples, inter- 
viewers, supervisors, other recent hires, or a combination of 
these approaches. 

Given the profound differences between underground coal 
mines and most other work settings, it is especially important 
that prospective new miners have a good understanding of the 
positive and negative aspects of working in a mine. The 
underground environment and its associated hazards and 
discomforts are likely to be completely foreign to those who 
have never worked underground. The technology of modern 
mining is also likely to be difficult for nonmining persons to 
comprehend. 

Realistic job previews might help to attract a more reliable 
and capable pool of job applicants from which employers can 
select new miners. Various experts have noted that, as an 
occupation, coal mining has a rather poor image. 

The National Academy of Sciences (34, p. 69) study of 
coal miners states, "The image of the coal miner as a dirty, 
ignorant, substandard human with a strong back, a weak 
mind, and a poor ill-fed family living in a shack on the side of 
a mountain dies slowly. " The report points out that this is no 
longer an accurate picture: "Today's coal miner, with stable 
employment, seeks to maintain a middle-class life style. He 
views himself more and more as a skilled technician." 

Although job previews have been empirically demon- 
strated to reduce turnover and improve employee job satisfac- 
tion (54), there appears to be no research concerning their 
effects on attendance. Owing to the lack of data concerning 
the impact realistic job previews actually have on employee 
attendance rates, there is need for caution in making any 
predictions about how they will influence miner attendance. 

The remainder of this section about strategies for reduc- 
ing absenteeism is organized according to the various specific 
causes of absenteeism. 

OVERCOMING INABILITY PROBLEMS 

The major reasons employees are unable to attend are 
physical and mental health problems, occupational hazards, 
and transportation problems. The remainder of this section 
presents strategies for reducing each of these types of barriers 
to miners' job attendance. 

Physical Health Problems 

In studies by both Goodman (10) and Peters (39), almost 
all miners cited illnesses as the most common cause of their 
absences. Illness is widely recognized as the most important 
cause of absenteeism (15-17, 29), accounting for from one-half 
to two-thirds of all employee absences (32). 

Hejda's (18) study of Czechoslovakian coal miners sug- 
gests that the administration of vitamin C and influenza 
vaccinations may be an effective technique for reducing the 
number of days lost to illnesses. During the winter months 
from 1971 to 1974, coal miners were given doses (100 mg/d) of 
vitamin C by their employer. During this time period, records 



were kept of the number and duration of illnesses suffered by 
the miners in control groups (those given a placebo) and 
experimental groups (those receiving vitamin C from their 
employer). In later stages of the study, the experimental group 
received influenza vaccinations in addition to daily doses of 
vitamin C. 

A significantly lower proportion of miners fell ill in the 
experimental groups than in the control groups, and the 
average duration of miners' illnesses in the experimental 
groups was markedly shorter. It was also observed that the 
incidence of illness among the group who received vaccinations 
and vitamin C was lower than the incidence of illnesses among 
a group who received vaccinations, but did not receive vitamin 
C. The incidence of illnesses was highest in the control group 
that was not vaccinated or administered vitamin C. 5 

A worker who is more susceptible to illness, or one who 
has certain chronic illnesses, is more likely to be absent. There 
are a variety of possible strategies to deal with illness as a cause 
of absenteeism. Better selection procedures could eliminate 
chronic cases. Making in-house medical services, special test- 
ing programs (e.g., hypertension), and health education pro- 
grams available is another possible response to personal health 
problems. Unfortunately, other than the study by Hejda (18), 
there appears to be little or no empirical evidence concerning 
the effects of any type of health improvement intervention on 
reducing coal miners absenteeism rates. 

Mental Health Problems 

Mental health problems include chronic emotional prob- 
lems (e.g., depression) and other forms or symptoms of 
emotional illness (e.g., alcoholism and drug abuse). Selection 
and employee assistance programs (EAP's) are the most 
traditional methods for dealing with mental health problems. 
The first method attempts to improve the procedures for 
screening out workers with mental health problems that might 
interfere with their job performance. 

EAP's are designed to provide diagnosis, referral, treat- 
ment, and followup for workers with mental health problems. 
The assumption behind EAP's is that relieving these emotional 
problems will enhance worker attendance, safety behavior, and 
productivity. A recent study of an EAP, which services four 
coal mines (approximately 1,500 employees), suggests that 
much like other segments of the population, a significant 
number of coal miners are experiencing various types of 
mental health problems (77). Figure 1 shows the number of 
clients experiencing various types of diagnosed problems dur- 
ing the years 1980 through 1983. 

There are many types of EAP's. While some are broad- 
brush, others are specific (e.g., alcoholism); some only provide 
diagnostic and referral services; and others also include treat- 
ment (see Campbell (7) and Goodman (77) for further details). 

Occupational Hazards 

In the coal mining industry, injuries are a particularly 
important cause of employee absence. According to Mine 
Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), during the years 
1980 through 1984, an average of 1.42 pet of the total days of 
work scheduled for employees of underground coal mining 
operations were missed because of work-related injuries (53). 
The five annual percentages ranged from 1.29 pet to 1.59 pet. 



5 Although Hejda's study showed that vitamin C significantly reduced the 
incidence of illnesses, other research findings suggest that supplementing one's 
diet with daily doses of vitamin C is not particularly effective in preventing 
certain types of illnesses such as the common cold. 



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DIAGNOSED PROBLEMS 



Figure 1 .—Number of EAP clients experiencing various types 
of problems during the years 1980-83. Note that multiple 
problem definitions could be assigned to single client. 



Of the various types of work-related injuries suffered by 
miners, back injuries account for a greater amount of lost time 
than any other single type. Back injuries account for approx- 
imately 31 pet of the total workdays missed by underground 
coal miners because of work-related injuries (38). 

In two studies (2, 28), it has been found that workers who 
feel they are being exposed to dangerous or unhealthy working 
conditions have substantially higher absence rates than other 
workers. Allen argues not only do hazardous working condi- 
tions cause absences directly, i.e., through lost time injuries, 
such conditions also cause high absenteeism indirectly — em- 
ployees wish to avoid their workplace because it is perceived as 
a threat to their safety and health. 

Because work-related accidents are an important cause of 
coal miners absenteeism, one should not overlook the impor- 
tance of an effective company safety program as a deterrent to 
absenteeism. For a discussion of the characteristics of effective 
safety programs for the mining industry, see Peters (40). 

Transportation Problems 

Factors such as driving distance to work, bad roads, 
weather, or other transportation problems, are related to 
absenteeism. This is common in the mining industry, where the 
mines are often in isolated rural areas and workers have to 
drive long distances to get to work. Some companies in mining 
and nonmining industries have provided transportation (e.g., 
company buses) to reduce absenteeism. Unfortunately, there 
are no cost-benefit analyses to indicate the effect of these 
procedures. 

OVERCOMING MOTIVATIONAL PROBLEMS 

There is not much empirical evidence concerning the 
determinants of miners motivation to be absent from work. In 
Goodman's (10) study, coal miners were asked various ques- 



tions about what motivates them to be absent. Attractive 
features of the nonwork environment (e.g., going hunting, 
engaging in social activities) were cited more often than 
unattractive features of the work environment (e.g., disliking 
the job, supervisor) as reasons for missing work. 

There is hardly any good empirical evidence concerning 
the effectiveness of various attempts to increase miners atten- 
dance. However, there are several good empirical evaluations 
of the effectiveness of various interventions on increasing 
nonmining employees' attendance. Research suggests that 
mine operators should consider the following strategies for 
increasing miners attendance motivation: conducting training, 
publicly posting attendance information, redesigning jobs, 
changing wage and benefit policies, and implementing atten- 
dance based incentive programs. 

Training 

Training can be an important strategy for reducing absen- 
teeism. Training for this purpose has been conducted for 
supervisors and for employees. 

Training for Supervisors 

There is very little empirical evidence concerning the 
effects of supervisory training on absenteeism. However, train- 
ing the supervisor to deal with absenteeism seems an important 
strategy in reducing absenteeism since the supervisor is the 
person who deals first (and on a continuing basis) with the 
absentee problem. Latham (26) states that supervisors are a key 
to keeping attendance rates high. 

It is they who should be responsible for keeping atten- 
dance records, so that a high attendance rate can be 
rewarded and a low attendance rate can be corrected. This 
is not likely to be done if the attendance data are buried in 
time cards, if the supervisor is continually second-guessed 
by others on judgments regarding the "whys" underlying 
an absence, if the supervisor is not trained in how to focus 
on problems rather than personalities, and if the rules 
regarding attendance are vague and subject to many 
interpretations. 
Adkins (1) also stresses the importance of making sure 
that supervisors understand how to respond to their subordi- 
nates' absenteeism. 

When a problem individual begins to show up in the 
records, someone who knows him [most likely the imme- 
diate supervisor] should talk with him about it face to face 
before he gets letters on company stationery. The latter 
only breeds hostility and resentment. Consistent and even 
handed administration of the program, particularly the 
disciplinary aspects, is likely to be more important to 
worker acceptance than are the details of the program. 
A Bureau of National Affairs' (BNA) survey found that, 
although supervisors in 82 pet of the firms are charged with 
maintaining daily attendance records, only 42 pet of the 
companies train supervisors in absence control (6). The BNA 
report indicates the firms that train their supervisors on 
absence control provide instruction on: techniques for coun- 
seling employees, recognizing attendance problems, handling 
verbal reprimands, and other disciplinary procedures. Al- 
though a few companies educate their supervisors in absence 
control through one-to-one consultation with a personnel 
department staff member, most provide the information 
through supervisory meetings, seminars, or films. 

The BNA report tells of one employer's attempt to 
standardize supervisory training in absence control through 
the development of a booklet describing the supervisor's role 



in sick leave administration. The booklet describes types of 
health problems, circumstances for which sick leave may be 
taken, and instructions for processing sick leave requests. A 
major intent of this publication is to provide a set of uniform 
guidelines so that all supervisors will be following the same 
standards in making sick leave decisions. Goodman's (70) 
study of coal miners absenteeism suggests that this approach 
could be beneficial to the mining industry. One of Goodman's 
conclusions is that absence control policies are often unclear 
and inconsistently applied. In Goodman's (70) study 45 pet of 
the miners reported that management makes exceptions in the 
administration of the absence control plan. Goodman notes 
that these inconsistencies may cause much confusion about 
what constitutes a legitimate reason for absence, and that such 
confusion is likely to cause perceptions of unfair treatment and 
labor-management conflict. 

In addition to providing supervisors with instructions 
about the details of the company's absence control policy, it 
may also be beneficial for them to practice carrying out these 
instructions. Wexley (56) found that having supervisors partic- 
ipate in role-playing exercises related to violations of organi- 
zational attendance rules resulted in decreased absenteeism. 

Training for Employees 

Research by Rosen (41) suggests that orientation training 
for new employees on the details of the company's attendance 
rules is a useful way to ensure good attendance rates. These 
researchers claim that, through orientation training, atten- 
dance rates for hard-core hires were as good as the rates for 
stable employees, i.e., those who had met normal hiring 
criteria. 

Goodman (70) claims it is important to supplement 
orientation training with periodic training about the absentee 
control plan. Goodman (70) claims that discussing the plan in 
an orientation session may have a short-term effect, but will 
not affect absenteeism over time. 

Posting Attendance Information 

Measuring absenteeism and posting attendance informa- 
tion may reduce absenteeism. Latham (26) states, 

From the standpoint of motivation, measurement in 
itself may be the most highly effective, underused, and 
deceptively straightforward approach available for in- 
creasing attendance. The process is effective because 
"what gets measured gets done." The simple act of 
putting a measure on something focuses attention on that 
area. 
Latham (26) reports several studies used publicly reported 
attendance information to significantly decrease absenteeism. 
Latham (26) admits this intervention requires some increase in 
clerical-computer costs, but claim that these costs are likely to 
be trivial in comparison to the gains realized from significantly 
higher attendance rates. 

A study conducted at Parkdale Mills, Inc., located in 
Lexington, NC, nicely illustrates the effectiveness of this 
approach (57). Prior to the study, people who were absent were 
reprimanded. Those who had good attendance records re- 
ceived no comments. A 15-week baseline showed that atten- 
dance averaged 86 pet. At the end of the baseline period, a 
daily attendance chart was placed in the work area. A blue dot 
was placed on the chart beside the name of each person who 
was on the job. A red dot was placed beside the name of each 
person who was off the job. A person who had been absent 
was welcomed back to the job by the supervisor. No oral or 



written reprimands were given. The supervisor maintained this 
graph daily. In addition, a weekly attendance graph was posted 
that showed the percentage of people who attended the job 
each day. From a baseline average of 86 pet, attendance 
averaged 94.3 pet for the following 9-week period. The costs of 
this program were less than $10. 

Job Enrichment 

An important determinant of employees' motivation to 
attend work is the level of job involvement. According to Katz 
(20), in order to arouse and maximize job involvement, the job 
must provide sufficient variety, complexity, challenge, and 
exercise of skill to engage the abilities of the employee. Katz 
argued further, that job involvement occurs to the extent that 
employees (1) participate in important decisions about group 
objectives, (2) contribute to group performance in a significant 
way, and (3) share in the rewards of group accomplishment. 

In Kanungo's (19) review of research on the consequences 
of job involvement, it was concluded, "On the basis of the 
existing evidence, it seems reasonable to assume a negative 
relationship between job involvement and absenteeism, but the 
evidence is limited to only a few studies." Redesigning jobs in 
ways that increase the employee's involvement is often referred 
to as job enrichment. In the review of attempts to enrich jobs 
in various types of organizations, Goodman (75) notes there 
has been a trend toward experimenting with new forms of job 
and organizational design over the past 10 yr, and that these 
interventions usually result in lower levels of absenteeism. 

A well-known attempt at job enrichment in the under- 
ground coal mining industry is the experiment conducted at 
the Rushton mine near Osceola Mills, PA. Although the 
experiment involved several types of changes (e.g., job 
rotation 6 and a uniform pay rate), the most significant was the 
creation of autonomous work groups. Supervisors were re- 
moved from face crews, and the crews were given full respon- 
sibility for planning and carrying out their own work. One 
consequence of the Rushton experiment was it significantly 
decreased absenteeism (See Goodman (9)). 

Wage and Benefit Levels 

The effect of pay levels on absenteeism is unclear. Some 
have argued that changing an employee's pay creates an 
imbalance between the employee's desire for more income 
versus the desire for more leisure time (28, 47). They argue that 
by raising income, the employee's desire for money will 
decrease relative to the desire for additional leisure time. 
Indeed, having more income may enable one to get more 
enjoyment from one's leisure time. This line of argument 
suggests that pay increases will cause employees to place a 
higher priority on the acquisition of additional leisure time 
(perhaps through absenteeism), and will make them more 
willing to forego the income that might have to be sacrificed 
for failing to report to work. 

Others have argued that higher pay levels discourage 
absenteeism by raising the opportunity costs of being absent, 
i.e., the higher one's pay rate, the greater the sacrifice one 
makes by foregoing a day's pay to be absent (8). There is 
empirical support for both of these conflicting theoretical 
arguments (8, 28). Unfortunately, there appears to be no 
empirical tests of the effects that changes in pay levels have on 
miners absenteeism. 



6 Instead of performing only one job, the miners within a crew regularly 
switched jobs such that, over time, each person spent roughly the same amount 
of time performing each of the jobs involved in operating a section of the mine. 



In the fringe benefit area, there is clearer information 
about the effect of policies such as sick leave and their impact 
on absenteeism. Dalton (8) report that companies with more 
generous sick leave benefits — and those that do not remunerate 
unused sick leave — have higher absenteeism. This finding has 
some important implications for controlling miners absentee- 
ism. However, because the finding is based on a limited 
amount of empirical evidence, one needs to be cautious about 
making inferences until more research has been done on this 
issue. 

Incentive Programs 

Three general types of incentive programs have been used 
to reduce absenteeism: positive incentive programs, negative 
sanctions programs, and mixed programs — ones that used 
positive and negative incentives. 

Positive Incentive Programs 

Positive incentive programs provide some reward for high 
attendance. Steers (46) review of research on these programs 
indicates that reinforcers such as bonuses, participation in a 
lottery, participation in a poker hand, food credit reimburse- 
ment for unused sick leave, and desirable work schedules can 
lead to increased attendance. While there are other programs 
using positive incentives that did not lead to a reduction in 
absenteeism, the majority of the empirical evidence supports 
the effectiveness of positive incentive programs. One criticism 
of these programs is that they are not always cost effective. 
Kempen (22) notes that they are often not cost effective 
because all the perfect or near-perfect attenders receive the 
money (or reward), even though they cannot improve their 
attendance. To avoid this cost, Kempen suggests that two 
questions be asked: (1) What privileges would people like to 
have that they do not have now? (2) What do they find 
irritating or aversive in the work setting? The answers to these 
questions provide a list of possible rewards for increasing 
attendance that may not be costly to the organization. Exam- 
ples of nonmonetary privileges for good attendance that have 
been tried include: freedom from punching time clocks, one or 
two excused days off with pay, and immunity from disciplinary 
action for a year related to absence taking. 

Negative Sanctions 

Programs based on negative sanctions are built around 
absentee control plans. Control plans usually specify stages, 
levels of absenteeism permitted, penalties, and continuous 
attendance necessary to remove oneself from a particular 
disciplinary stage of the absentee control plan. Basically these 
plans identify a series of stages of varying forms of punish- 
ment. For example, absenteeism at a particular level would 
lead to a warning letter. Subsequent levels of absenteeism 
would lead to a suspension. Continued absenteeism would lead 
to dismissal. 

Wilkinson (57) quotes an arbitrator who decided for 
Lykes Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of Youngstown Mines 
Corp., Youngstown, OH in a UMWA appeal of suspensions as 
saying, "there is nothing unreasonable about expecting an 
employee to work regularly. Without a dependable work force, 
whether in a mine, a mill, or an office, an employer cannot 
produce the product that produces the money for the payroll." 
However, it is important that absence control programs meet 
just-cause standards. In this regard, Rosenthal (42) has noted 
the following: 

1 . The rules regarding an attendance policy not only must 
be published, but they must be communicated directly to the 
employees. 



2. Clarity is essential. An arbitrator found a discharge to 
be without just cause because the rules required only notice to 
management regarding an absence without stating that the 
employee must do the notifying. The employee had a friend 
notify the supervisor that he wouldn't be coming to work. 

3. The organization must make it clear that it intends to 
enforce the attendance rules. 

4. Management discretion must be minimized. In one 
case, a company excused absences due to "acts of God." An 
arbitrator ruled that the company was remiss in not ruling an 
absence that occurred as a result of a snowstorm an "act of 
God." 

5. Consistency must exist in the application of the pro- 
gram rules to all employees. 

6. Length of employment is given little weight by 
arbitrators. 

7. Progressive discipline steps should be followed, such as 
an oral warning, a written warning, and a suspension before 
termination occurs. Arbitrators do not see excessive absentee- 
ism in and of itself as just cause for discharging a person. An 
employee may be discharged for just-cause (excessive) absen- 
teeism only if industrial due process (as that term has been 
interpreted by the individual arbitrator) has been afforded. 

Despite the widespread use of management sanctions in 
business organizations (6), the evidence supporting the effec- 
tiveness in attendance control is limited largely to anecdotal 
case studies — very little empirical research of acceptable qual- 
ity has been performed. For example, Seatter (45) discussed an 
attendance control program based on relatively strict disciplin- 
ary measures implemented over a 5-yr period. While Seatter 
reported a major (and sustained) reduction in absence rates 
during the time period, it was impossible to separate the 
program's effects from the multitude of uncontrolled variables 
that could have accounted for the improvement in attendance. 

According to Baum (4) and Steers (46), the literature is 
characterized by divided opinions and conflicting findings 
concerning the efficacy of sanctions in reducing absenteeism. 
Much of the opposition to the use of sanctions is based on two 
grounds: (1) behavior modification techniques based on pos- 
itive reinforcement of desired behaviors (coming to work 
regularly) are more suitable and effective in dealing with 
absenteeism; (2) sanctions based on the use of disciplinary 
procedures (punishments) tend to produce undesirable side 
effects that are as objectionable as the behavior of primary 
interest (3). For example, Nicholson (36) found that rigorously 
enforced sanctions caused workers to resort to longer, medi- 
cally related absences to escape the consequences of the 
disciplinary system; the overall level of days lost was not 
changed by the clamp-down. 

In contrast, a well designed study by Baum (4) found that 
the strict enforcement of the control policy "had no discernible 
effect on either long term illnesses or contractual absences!' 
and that the overall level of days lost was significantly reduced 
by the clamp-down. The sample consisted of 336 workers 
selected randomly from three departments of a large, midwest- 
ern components manufacturing division of one of the big three 
automobile companies. The jobs in question were union 
blue-collar production and maintenance jobs at the same 
hierarchical level within the company, but paying considerable 
above the median wage for the geographic region. The study 
employed a nonequivalent control group design since it was 
not possible to randomly assign subjects to the treatment and 
control groups. Absenteeism was defined as the number of 
days the worker failed to report to the job when work was 
scheduled, excluding long-term illnesses and contractual 
absenteeism. 



In the experimental group, management used the follow- 
ing six-step procedure in all cases of unauthorized absentee- 
ism: (1) detailed attendance records would be kept by the 
worker's supervisor; (2) written excuses from legitimate outside 
sources would be required for unauthorized absences; (3) 
questionable excuses would be independently investigated; (4) 
management would personally counsel all workers with unau- 
thorized absences; (5) the existing progressive discipline system 
would be used to penalize excessive absenteeism; and (6) 
updated discipline and attendance records would be main- 
tained on all workers. The managers in the two comparison 
departments continued with the existing attendance policy, 
which simply delegated the responsibility for attendance con- 
trol to the immediate supervisor. 

A prepost measure of absenteeism served as the criteria 
for evaluating the intervention. The independent variable was 
whether the attendance control policy would be enforced 
casually or strictly. Within the experimental and control 
groups, employees were further categorized (for analysis pur- 
poses) according to their past absence rates as being a high-, 
medium-, or low-absence worker. It was found that, in com- 
parison to high-absence workers in the control group, the 
intervention reduced absenteeism among high-absence workers 
in the experimental group by a significantly larger extent 
(probability (p) < 0.05). The chronically absent workers, who 
were subject to the attendance control policy, improved their 
attendance an average of 7 d/yr over the comparison group. 
The intervention produced no change in the absence rates of 
the two groups of more regular attenders. However, significant 
improvements in these two groups were not considered to be as 
important as improvements in the group of chronically poor 
attenders. Although the group of chronic absentees were only 
25 pet of the sample, they accounted for 56.5 pet of the total 
days lost during the year prior to the intervention. 

Goodman's (70) study of absenteeism at 15 coal mines 
during the early 1980's suggests that the situation is similar in 
the coal mining industry, i.e., a relatively small percentage of 
the total workforce accounts for a disproportionately large 
percentage of the total number of days lost to unexcused 
absenteeism. Goodman (70) reports the percent of total days of 
unexcused absenteeism that could be attributed to the 10 pet of 
the workforce with the highest levels of unexcused absenteeism 
at each mine for each year. The average of these percentages 
was 32. 1 , which suggests that 10 pet of the workforce accounts 
for about a third of total unexcused absenteeism. 

Although Baum's (4) study focused on the use of negative 
sanctions, it is important to include both negative and positive 
rewards in programs to improve attendance. 

It seems unrealistic for managers to assume that a given 
control policy will be perceived in the same way by the best 
and worst attenders in the work force. Workers who are 
absent infrequently have demonstrated a basic commit- 
ment to the managerial ethic that good attendance is a 
prerequisite to successful performance. The organiza- 
tional reward system (pay, promotion opportunities, su- 
pervisory praise, etc.) has been internalized to the point 
that these workers perceive that it is in their best interest to 
attend regularly. The use of sanctions to encourage mar- 
ginal improvements in attendance would appear to be 
dysfunctional in the case of regular attenders. If improve- 
ments in attendance are desired among these workers, 
then positive reinforcements to attend more regularly have 
considerable potential. Chronic absentees, however, have 
already exhibited a pattern of behavior suggesting that 
their organization's reward system is not particularly 
salient to their basic needs. They have been willing to 
forego higher pay and other rewards associated with 



regular attendance for more time away from the job. It 
seems highly unlikely that a control policy based on 
positive reinforcements similar to the lottery incentive 
system of Pedalino (37) will be sufficiently attractive to 
cause chronic absentees to alter their previous patterns of 
behavior. 

Mixed Consequence Plans 

Plans that include both positive incentives for attendance 
and negative sanctions for absences have been devised and 
empirically tested (14, 23-25). These mixed consequence plans 
were generally found to be quite effective at reducing absen- 
teeism. The design of these mixed plans varied considerably. 
Those who wish to find out the details of each of these plans 
are referred to the four articles cited above. Several leading 
researchers and practitioners have spoken highly of this type of 
plan (1, 4, 26, 46). 

Participation in Incentive Plan Design 

Two nonmanagement groups are sometimes included in 
the design of incentive plans to improve attendance: employees 
and unions. Research suggests that their participation can help 
to ensure the success of the plan. 

Employee Involvement 

Latham (26) suggests that greater employee involvement 
in designing an absentee system may increase employee's 
motivation to adopt the system as their own. If the absentee 
system is seen as the employee's own construction, they will 
more likely follow the rules. Three suggestions for initiating a 
program of employee involvement in absenteeism reduction are 
as follows: 

(1) Provide employees with information that will help 
convince them that absenteeism is a problem which they 
should be concerned about. Give them information about 
absenteeism rates, the costs of absenteeism, and the conse- 
quences of high absenteeism to the worker in terms of safety or 
job security. 

(2) Provide an opportunity for employees to participate in 
the design of an absenteeism program, which will create 
positive incentives for attendance and sanctions for high 
absenteeism. 

(3) Provide an opportunity for employees to monitor 
absenteeism over time, and monitor the effectiveness of the 
program to reduce absenteeism. 

Scheflen (44) performed a well designed field experiment 
on the effects of employee participation in the development of 
pay incentive plans to increase attendance. Three groups of 
building maintenance employees developed their own incentive 
plans to reward high attendance, and identical plans were then 
imposed by company management in two other work groups. 
A significant increase in attendance was found during the first 
16 weeks following implementation of the plans only in the 
groups where the plans were participatively developed. Atten- 
dance rates were not significantly altered in the groups sub- 
jected to the management-imposed plans. A followup evalua- 
tion conducted 1 yr after the original plans had been installed 
revealed that attendance was still higher in the groups that had 
been allowed to participate in designing their own plan. 

Union Involvement 

Programs developed by union and management may be 
another way to deal with absenteeism. As previously men- 
tioned, absenteeism can cause grievances. Therefore, both 
union and management have a stake in dealing with this issue. 



Some unions and companies (e.g., United Auto Workers and 
General Motors) have established joint committees at the 
national and local levels to seek ways to deal with absenteeism. 
There are no data available to assess the effectiveness of joint 
labor-management efforts on absenteeism. 

CURRENT PRACTICES 

The BNA report (6) contains specific and detailed exam- 
ples of (1) what some employers consider to be an excessive 
level of absenteeism; (2) absence control measures; (3) special 
incentives for good attendance; and (4) progressive disciplinary 
systems. The BNA report also provides statistics concerning 
how many firms are engaging in various strategies to increase 
their employees' attendance. The following are some of the 
highlights of the BNA survey: 

1 . Although a system of progressive discipline has been set 
up by more than 9 out of 10 employers to handle attendance 
problems, fewer companies — 43 pet — have a written rule or 
policy defining excessive absence. 

2. One quarter of the firms have developed new programs 
such as job enrichment, worker participation programs, and 
flexible hours to improve motivation, productivity, and, in all 
likelihood, absence and turnover rates as well. 

3. Supervisors are trained in absence control by 4 out of 
10 companies, and 16 pet of the firms evaluate their supervi- 
sors, in part, on the absence rates of employees in their charge. 

4. Motivational programs have been developed by 4 out of 
10 responding companies to promote good attendance. Almost 
half of those employers (45 pet) pay employees for unused sick 
leave; nearly 4 out of 10 offer awards or publicity for 
employees with the best attendance records; 27 pet promote 
better attendance through pay inserts or newsletter articles; 
and one out of five financially reward employees who achieve 
attendance standards. 

5. Disciplinary action and employee counseling are con- 
sidered the most effective methods for curbing employee 
absence by the largest group of respondents. Of the 100 
respondents who offer comments on what they have found to 
be the most effective method of curbing unnecessary employee 
absences, the largest group — more than a third — cite disciplin- 
ary measures or discharge as the key. Nearly as many — about 
30 pet — attest to the effectiveness of counseling employees as 



problems develop. Ten percent found that establishing a formal 
policy and a consistently administered program made the most 
difference in their absence rates, and another 10 pet stress the 
supervisor's role as the most important element, attributing 
improved absence records to supervisory training, awareness, 
and rapport with employees. 

The BNA survey included many types of business and 
nonbusiness organizations. The category that appears closest 
to the mining industry in terms of the work force and working 
conditions is manufacturing firms. About half of the compa- 
nies in the survey fall into this category. The following statistics 
indicate the proportion of manufacturing firms that use 
various methods for controlling absenteeism: 99 pet have a 
progressive disciplinary system for employees with attendance 
problems; 54 pet have a written rule or policy describing 
excessive absence; 52 pet give supervisors training in absence 
control; 25 pet evaluate supervisors' performance on the basis 
of subordinates' absence rates; and 53 pet have taken special 
measures to encourage good attendance. 

Of the manufacturing firms that have taken special mea- 
sures, the proportion using various types of incentives and/or 
interventions are 39 pet pay for unused sick leave; 47 pet give 
employees with the best attendance records some form of 
recognition; 31 pet use motivational pay inserts, posters, or 
newsletter articles; 28 pet provide financial rewards for meeting 
attendance standards; and 6 pet give additional paid vacation 
leave for meeting attendance goals. 

These percentages suggest that a substantial proportion of 
the absenteeism control plans currently in use do not contain 
features that research suggests would make them more effec- 
tive. Most notably, 46 pet do not have a written policy 
describing excessive absence; 48 pet do not involve giving 
supervisors training in absence control; and 47 pet do not 
involve using some form of positive incentive to encourage 
good attendance. It appears that the approach being used by 
many employers to control absenteeism is limited solely to the 
use of various forms of punishment for noncompliance with 
the attendance rules. The research evidence reviewed previ- 
ously suggests that better plans can be devised. Based on this 
research and what is known about the coal mining industry, 
the following program for improving miners attendance is 
proposed. 



PROGRAM FOR IMPROVING MINERS ATTENDANCE 



The usual reasons for an attendance program are to 
reduce interruptions to production, decrease labor costs, and 
to improve safety. An attendance program, which produces 
high, consistent, and predictable attendance, helps the com- 
pany achieve these goals. If attendance is not perfect, but 
safety and productivity are high then the goals may be 
considered met. Furthermore, worker satisfaction is an impor- 
tant goal in its own right. A system that gets excellent 
attendance at the cost of lowered worker satisfaction may 
alienate workers, causing a variety of undesirable outcomes. 
The system should help foster effective work habits and 
positive work attitudes because such habits and attitudes are 
crucial determinants of a mine operation's productivity and 
safety. 

In order to develop the most effective absenteeism pro- 
gram for a particular mine site, one should consider using 
basic attendance control procedures which have been shown to 
be effective in other situations, and tailor them for the needs 
and constraints of a particular mine. 



According to Goodman (70), the major determinants of 
absenteeism vary significantly from one group of miners to 
another. Furthermore, the best strategies for reducing absen- 
teeism vary with the causes of the absenteeism, making it 
important to choose strategies that fit the major causes at a 
particular mine. 

On the basis of the research evidence concerning charac- 
teristics of effective absence control measures, the following 
four stage program for improving miners attendance is 
recommended: 7 

1. Measure and display data. 

2. State goals and absenteeism policy. 



7 For a similar analysis of absenteeism control plans see Kempen (22). Stages 
like this may be used to deal with a range of human behaviors in an 
organizational setting. It is beyond the scope of the present report to describe 
such practices. Those interested in using behavior analysis to solve other 
problems should see Malott (30) and Sulzer-Azaroff (48). 



3. Develop and implement attendance promotion 
program. 

4. Recycle. 

Each of these stages are discussed in detail. 

MEASURE AND DISPLAY DATA 

The first stage describes various strategies used to collect 
and analyze data on absenteeism. It is a very important 
prerequisite to the stages that follow. In order to get an 
accurate idea of the nature of the absenteeism or to see if there 
even is an absenteeism problem, one must examine the absen- 
teeism data. The data will reveal whether the problem is with a 
few individuals, mine wide, or if the problem is restricted to a 
particular section, shift, or unique subpopulation of workers. 
A graphic representation of the data across time also allows 
one to see if new attendance control measures are having any 
impact. 

There are a number of useful ways to examine the data, 
each having strengths and limitations. For example, the data 
may be broken into excused versus unexcused absences. It may 
also be informative to look for seasonal or temporal trends in 
the data, e.g., breakdowns by day of the week, or other 
significant events like the opening of hunting season. Another 
useful method to display attendance is to make charts of the 
number of days on the job per worker. Displays that aggregate 
attendance over time or over groups of people often help to 
reveal a more complete picture of the major causes of absen- 
teeism, thus improving one's ability to select appropriate 
strategies for improving attendance. These aggregate displays 
will also allow one to get a better picture of the effects of a 
given intervention. 

A good source of information about discerning trends 
and patterns in the rates of miner absenteeism (perhaps for 
comparison purposes) is Goodman's report (70), which pre- 
sents several types of breakdowns of the absenteeism that 
occurred at each of 15 coal mines during the early 1980's. 
Linear modeling, a procedure described in the appendix to this 
report, is another valuable aid in understanding the causes of 
absenteeism. 

The charts constructed to track attendance patterns 
should contain tallies of all absences for whatever reason. If 
distinctions are made between different types of absences (e.g. , 
excused and unexcused) the meaning of the tallies will be 
obscured by the often subjective nature of making the distinc- 
tion. Also, it is preferable to chart absences rather than 
attendance because it is simply unwieldy to check off every 
attending miner every day, and the resulting chart would be too 
cluttered for easy analysis. As long as the absence measure 
used for the tallies is a mirror image of simple attendance, the 
charts should be both unambiguous and easy to maintain. 

Individual Level Charts 

A simple, but effective mode of examining absences is to 
create a chart that displays the absences per worker per crew 
(worker absence chart). A tally of this sort may be updated 
daily by simply placing an "X" above any worker who is 
absent during that recording period. Blank recording forms 
can be copied for use by administrators or supervisors. Figure 
2 shows a hypothetical example of this sort of display. 

Each worker's chart should be updated daily as the 
behavior of interest (absence) occurs. As the X's accumulate, 
patterns may become evident that reveal problems needing 
prompt remedial action. For instance, one would interpret the 
situation differently if the pattern seen in figure 2 occurred by 
March rather than in June. Recording absences as they occur is 



important in order to prevent minor problems from becoming 
major problems. 

Figure 3 shows another pattern of absences which may 
lead to different decisions about remediation than the deci- 
sions made based on the pattern in figure 2. An absence 
pattern like that shown in figure 2 might lead one to suspect 
that one or two workers have an absence problem and that the 
work section is otherwise relatively conducive to attendance 
for the rest of the crew. Figure 3, on the other hand, might 
prompt a search for problems with the particular working 
conditions, which seems to be affecting the attendance of the 
entire crew (including physical factors and supervision) on this 
section, or it might stimulate development of a positive 
incentive plan for attendance. 

Charts like the ones shown in figures 2 and 3 can also use 
color codes or lines to indicate at what point a worker is in 
need of help or remedial action. These charts can be an aid in 
catching problems before they cause production losses or 
safety hazards. 

For some purposes it may be useful to look at the 
durations of each employee's absences. For example, absences 
owing to an accident may cause a number of consecutive days 
off the job. Often it is the case that severe illness and injury 
will cause a long period of consecutive days off the job. A lack 
of motivation, on the other hand, might result in a great 
number of absences of short duration. Thus, different patterns 
of absences may be interpreted differently. An interesting series 
of graphs could be made on number of absences and duration 
of absences for individual or group data. This sort of fine- 
grain analysis may help one see aspects of attendance which 
are important to production and safety. These charts will be 
described in later sections. At this point, it should be pointed 
out that they may be useful as part of the procedure for 
measuring and displaying data. 

An attendance chart might also include information 
about the job classification of the miners present or absent. 
Information of this type might be useful for those using 
attendance records to help plan replacements for absent work- 
ers or when evaluating the effect of absences. The important 
thing in using charts to evaluate attendance is to make sure it 
views the aspect of the importance of attendance to the mine 
and the program. 

Aggregating Across Individuals 

Another chart that can be very helpful in assessing the 
effectiveness of a program is a frequency attendance chart. 
This chart is also very easy to prepare and use. In order to 
prepare this chart, simply label the horizontal axis with 
successive calendar days. For easy analysis, use all, of the days 
of the week even if work is done only on weekdays. Label the 
vertical axis with workers on the job. Then, to fill out the 
chart, take the total count of attendance for that day and put 
a dot at the appropriate place. This chart can be used mine 
wide or by section depending upon the aspect of attendance 
that is important. As with the worker absence chart, charting 
on a daily basis is easier and more effective than tallying a 
number of days all at once. Trying to chart 3 months of data 
at once may seem like a prohibitively time consuming and 
difficult task, while consistent daily recording is a fairly easy 
job. Moreover, the information obtained as the data is charted 
on a daily basis can be used immediately to correct any 
impending problems. 

Looking at 6 months of recorded data can yield valuable 
information about the nature of the absenteeism problem, 
days with low attendance, and possible causes of absences. A 
pointer or cane may be placed over significant changes in the 



10 



Number of 
absences 



Worker absences 



11 



10 



8 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



^ 

^ 






<b 



^ 



6 




^ 



o*^ 



^^ 






Recording period: ^ aL/r ^ ] 



to v-usruz, J)(j 



Figure 2.— Absences recorded over 6-month period for hypothetical mining crew. 



11 



Number of 
absences 



TT 



Worker absences 



TO" 



~5 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



X 



b? 



1 



1 



1 







« 



<=** 



59 



Recording period: Qovrv 1 



to Vusna, 30 



Figure 3.— Absences recorded over same period as figure 2 for crew with different absence patterns. 



12 



attendance program or important events. The correlation 
between the events and changes in attendance can then become 
graphically apparent. Most importantly, a 6-month graph can 
show how consistently attendance rates were at the desired 
levels. Consistent attendance rates should be sought in addi- 
tion to high overall attendance rates. Figure 4 shows how a 
frequency attendance chart might look. 

After implementing a new procedure to improve atten- 
dance, this measurement and display stage of the plan should 
continue. Then in 2 or 3 months, when enough data is 
collected to ensure that seasonal or random fluctuations are 
not in play, one can evaluate the effectiveness of the new policy 
or procedure. An even shorter time period may be used if past 
records are charted and used for analysis. Looking at corre- 
sponding times of the year can be especially valuable when 
doing a historical comparison. 

It is impossible to evaluate and possibly even implement a 
change in an attendance program if one does not gather and 
analyze enough absenteeism data to get a good baseline. As 
the attendance program progresses through the other stages, 
this measurement and display continues as an integral part of 
the entire program. It will be used through the successive stages 
of program development and represents one of the most 
important elements of the program. 

In summary, measuring and displaying data is an impor- 
tant step in an absence control program that should include the 
following tasks: 

• Chart the aspect of attendance of concern to you. 

• Look for seasonal or other trends in the data. 

• Chart on a daily basis. 

• Various charts can be used. For example, total atten- 
dance can be looked at with frequency attendance charts or 
individual levels of attendance can be viewed with worker 
attendance charts or a daily attendance record. 

STATE GOALS AND ABSENTEEISM POLICY 

The formation of goals and policy statements is viewed as 
an important prerequisite to the stages that follow. Further, it 
is important to tell the workers what is happening both from 
an ethical standpoint and to avoid conflicts owing to lack of 
information. Workers will accept changes more readily (even 
positive ones) if they are informed of the changes before they 
occur. Last, the mere act of informing the workers of the rules 
can result in better attendance. 

Goal Setting 

The importance of setting goals about attendance cannot 
be overstated. Before attempting to solve any problems, decide 
upon what success will mean. The goal should be beneficial to 
both the mine and the workers, and it should be reasonable. 
Being reasonable means that one should aim for modest 
gains — ones that are likely to be perceived as attainable. If the 
goals are easy to attain, then the chances of success are 
enhanced and the entire work force is less likely to become 
disenchanted with the program. 

At this point, management may want to involve supervi- 
sors and labor by establishing a committee with representatives 
from both groups. Input from various segments of the work 
force can give management useful inputs on establishing goals. 
This committee can also help oversee the program as it is 
developed, implemented, and evaluated. The committee can be 
useful in representing the needs of the workers and in keeping 
them informed of the company goals. This can be a useful aid 



in securing worker acceptance and compliance to changes in 
rules or procedures. 

The first step in establishing an attendance goal is to 
decide why absenteeism is a problem. In other words, state the 
factors that lead the company to work on increasing consistent 
attendance. Make a list of the benefits to the company and to 
the miners. As mentioned earlier in the text, these reasons may 
be in terms of productivity, job security, reducing labor costs, 
safety, planning work, etc. Explicitly writing out these reasons 
for an attendance goal will help guide decisions in further 
interventions. For some goals, an attendance program may not 
be an entirely adequate answer. Perhaps positive incentives for 
some aspect of production will be in order, or a novel work 
plan may emerge as a better solution. In any case, a written 
statement of the reasons should be part of the goals as these 
will help guide future decisions. 

The next step in establishing an attendance goal is to state 
the level of attendance that will be considered exemplary in 
terms of frequency of attendance. The relevant dimension for 
measuring attendance will be selected according to the nature 
of the chosen goal. It might be the rate of attendance per day, 
rate per week, absences per day, absences per worker, or 
whatever dimensions are most applicable to the stated goals. 
Remember it is important for the goal to be reasonable and 
beneficial for both the company and the miners. 

The last part of this goal setting procedure is one that can 
start having an impact on the attendance pattern. Inform the 
miners of the goals. This is important for a few reasons. First, 
it provides honest information about why this program is 
important for them and for the mine. If people see reasons for 
attendance they may use this information to change their 
beliefs and values about attendance. Second, it will help 
counter resistance to the program by getting people ready for 
change. If workers see a program as unfair, they have a chance 
to voice their opinions and management has a chance to 
counter these objections openly. Moreover, if there are valid 
objections to the goals, then management has a chance to 
make adjustments before negative forces act to sabotage the 
whole program. Stating the goals of the attendance promotion 
program can help ensure that the subsequent interventions will 
succeed. Allow a month's notice before new procedures begin 
so that employees will be prepared for the changes. 

Negative Sanctions 

An employer needs to respond to problems quickly. Yet, 
employers sometimes attack the problem without sufficient 
forethought. Taking vindictive action or punitive measures 
may actually exacerbate the problem and could lead to a 
negative backlash among workers. A plan that is most useful is 
one that intervenes in stages in such a way as to help workers 
perform better. A system should bring out the best in workers 
and not be used solely as a club that threatens them for 
attendance transgressions. When punitive measures must be 
used, they should be applied consistently, and adhere to the 
rules of the program. Used in this way, the punishment will be 
more effective, have less negative backlash, and will help set 
the standards for the limits of acceptable attendance. 

Negative sanctions usually are in the form of disciplinary 
actions that go from formal warnings, through suspensions 
without pay, to employment termination. The last negative 
sanction will eliminate workers who are not amenable to the 
absenteeism policies. 

An essential part of the use of negative sanctions is that 
the specifics of each negative sanction be added to the 



13 



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Figure 4.— Attendance chart for hypothetical 6-month period with significant events indicated. 



14 



absenteeism policy statement. Then, ensure that the workers 
know exactly what these sanctions are and how they accrue. 
This has two purposes: first, it will help keep dissent down if 
the sanctions are applied, and second, it will inform workers as 
to what behaviors are not acceptable and the sanctions that 
will follow them. The latter may help reduce absenteeism by 
allowing miners to make an informed decision about the 
consequences of absenteeism. 

Premature use of negative sanctions can cause counter- 
productive behaviors. For example, workers who experience 
negative sanctions for absenteeism might be more prone to 
things like vandalism, sabotage, or slower work habits. 
Nicholson's (36) study suggests the increased use of negative 
sanctions for absenteeism may cause employees to find ways to 
circumvent the disciplinary system, leaving the overall rate of 
attendance unchanged. 

Just as it is important to avoid delivering sanctions too 
soon, it is also important that there be no delay between when 
a worker meets the criterion for disciplinary action and the 
administration of the negative sanction. For punishment to be 
effective it should be given out consistently and immediately 
after the transgressive behaviors. 

In order to be most effective, negative sanctions should be 
used only at times specified in the absence control policy, and 
used in a fair and consistent manner (for all occasions and for 
all workers). It is hoped that measures in an attendance 
promotion program will reduce the need to apply negative 
sanctions. 

In summary, this step is a prerequisite. It should be done 
even if there are currently no major absenteeism problems. 
Workers will know what is expected and should problems arise 
management will have recourse to act in a remediative manner. 
The policy statement should be precise and understandable. 
All workers should periodically be made aware of it. Specifi- 
cally, this policy statement should explain what types of 
absences are excusable and not excusable, procedures for 
reporting off, and consequences for violating the rules. Espe- 
cially during the initial phases, the absenteeism program is 
likely to undergo some changes as rules are added, deleted, or 
modified. Therefore, this stage should be viewed as a continu- 
ing process. 

In summary, it is recommended that the absence control 
program stage of stating the goals and absenteeism policy 
should include the following characteristics: 

• Involve supervisors and labor by utilizing a committee. 

• Goals should be beneficial to both the company and the 
employee. 

• Goal statements should include the reasons why good 
attendance is important (e.g., job security, reducing labor 
costs, safety, planning work, etc.). 

• The goal should be reasonably attainable to help ensure 
success. 

• State the specific level of attendance that has been 
targeted as the goal. 



DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT ATTENDANCE 
PROMOTION PROGRAM 

The development and implementation of an attendance 
plan is the core stage. In order to engender a high level of 
support and acceptance for the program, it should attempt 
positive interventions before negative ones, and should inter- 
vene only to the extent necessary. Beyond this, it is difficult to 
formulate recommendations that have widespread applicabil- 
ity. In order to specify the particular details of a program for 



a specific mine site, one must take into consideration other 
characteristics of the company and the mine workforce. 

Several specific strategies for improving attendance were 
reviewed in the first half of this report. Depending on what the 
major causes of the absenteeism at a particular mine are, some 
of these strategies will be more effective than others. However, 
two of these strategies appear to be advisable for almost any 
mine experiencing high absenteeism because of low attendance 
motivation. These strategies are (1) supervisory interventions 
and (2) incentive programs. The components of each of these 
two strategies are presented. 

Supervisory Intervention 

Three major things immediate supervisors can do to help 
eliminate aberrant absenteeism are (1) publicly chart atten- 
dance, (2) treat absent workers in a just and reasonable 
manner, and (3) monitor and refer employees whose poor 
attendance may reflect off-the-job problems. 

The supervisor is the first line of defense against problem 
absenteeism. In order to perform these measures correctly, the 
supervisor should be given training on procedures for reducing 
absenteeism and should be given feedback on dealing with the 
employees. Giving a supervisor feedback requires periodic 
monitoring of the supervisor's behavior concerned with carry- 
ing out the three approaches to supervisory intervention. 

Publicly Chart Attendance 

A crew supervisor can be shown how to fill out one of the 
blank charts described in stage one. These charts should be 
filled out daily and publicly posted for the crew to see. Charts 
make it easier for individuals to see where they are with respect 
to company goals and policies. As previously mentioned, 
Miller (57) found that publicly posting each employee's atten- 
dance record significantly reduced absenteeism from 14 to 5.7 
pet. Using this technique should be seen as a method of 
communicating information with the employees. The supervi- 
sors should refrain from making disparaging remarks about 
absences and use the graphic presentation only to help the 
workers see what is going on with respect to their absences. 
Figure 5 shows a record that can be very easy for a supervisor 
to fill out on a daily basis. The supervisor simply puts a mark 
across from the name of the employee on days worked. 
Alternatively, one might want to chart absences, i.e., the 
opposite of attendance. Figure 6 (based on absences) repre- 
sents a different method of portraying the data on which figure 
5 is based. Because days of absence are much less numerous 
than days of attendance, individuals' absence patterns and 
frequencies are somewhat easier to see in figure 6 than in figure 
5. 

Workers need to be informed about the nature of these 
charts. It should be made clear that these charts are not 
indexes of unexcused absenteeism. They are simply devices for 
looking at the patterns of attendance at the mine. The charts 
may help workers to realize where they are with respect to goals 
or positive or negative sanctions. 

These charts represent a different (less refined) level of 
analysis than the records kept by the mine office. For example, 
management records may categorize absences according to 
various reasons, while the supervisor is mainly interested in a 
count of people on the job. 

While more than 1 month may be displayed at a time, 
each chart produced by a supervisor should probably contain 
about 1 month's attendance data. Supervisors must consis- 
tently record attendance each day on the public chart. It takes 



15 



Daily attendance record 





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2 4 


25 


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27 


28 


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Month: j^a^xccoL,^ , 19 85 



Figure 5.— Chart showing daily attendance recording for hypothetical mine crew during 1 -month period. 



16 



Daily absence record 





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Month: Qgyn^^cca^ 19 85 



Figure 6.— Same chart as figure 5, only with absences rather than attendance indicated. 



17 



only a few minutes, at most, for the supervisor to place a check 
or other mark in the appropriate box on the tally. This is one 
of the easiest interventions, involving only minor changes to 
existing procedures. It can also enhance the effectiveness of the 
other interventions. Therefore, it is one of the first things to 
consider in an attendance promotion program. 

Treating Employees Reasonably 

Supervisors should not attempt to punish the worker by 
word or deed. Every negative sanction should already be 
clearly stated in the policy statement from stage two. Attempts 
by supervisors to deliver punishments outside of the formal 
sanctions in this policy can have strong negative consequences 
and might lead to a more intractable absenteeism problem. 
However, communicating policy to the worker can be impor- 
tant. Supervisors must know how to warn of impending 
negative sanctions without the warning itself seeming like a 
punishment. One way to do this is to incorporate the warning 
into an expression of concern for the worker's welfare. This is 
a tricky point. The supervisor could appear to be threatening 
the employee when it is important that the supervisor be seen 
as giving information to help the employee do well at that 
mine. It is important, for the success of the attendance 
promotion program, that supervisors be properly trained as to 
how and when to give this sort of informative feedback. 

A supervisor who makes value judgments about a work- 
er's morals or personality is less likely to communicate as 
effectively as one who clearly states the consequences of the 
worker's behavior in a factual manner. A statement such as, 
"What is wrong with you? You have got to show up for work 
or you are going to lose your job, buddy" is loaded with 
negative meanings. It is actually a form of punishment, which 
is likely to cause a number of undesired reactions. A more 
emotionally neutral factual statement can communicate the 
same information and have a better effect e.g., "John, I am 
concerned about your attendance because the company rules 
only allow one more day of unexcused absence. I'd hate to lose 
you because you are a good worker, but I know that manage- 
ment strictly enforces the absenteeism policy. So make sure you 
don't miss any more work." This type of emotionally neutral 
informative feedback, if actually true, can be a step in the 
direction of clear information without alienating a worker. 

When the worker returns after an absence, the supervisor 
should first welcome the person back. Informative feedback 
should not be given until later at a time when the employee will 
be more receptive to this type of communication. Advise 
supervisors to give feedback before a negative sanction is 
applied, but not when the person first returns to work and not 
in the potentially embarrassing presence of fellow crew 
members. 

Monitor and Refer Employees For Problems 

Many times, a supervisor is confronted with a relatively 
small number of habitually absent miners. Habitual absentees 
are apt to be experiencing some type of off-the-job problems. 
Their absenteeism may be the result of alcoholism, drug abuse, 
emotional distress, or family related problems. In such cases, 
it may be helpful to both the employer and the employee if the 
individual gets appropriate counseling or some other type of 
assistance to help cope with the problem. 

It is important that persons with certain types of prob- 
lems, (e.g., alcoholism), be helped before their problem 
progresses to the point of being irreversible. Working daily 
with the employee, the supervisor is in a good position to spot 
employees with off-the-job problems affecting their work. 



Therefore, the immediate supervisor may be in the best 
position to initially refer employees for help. However, in order 
for supervisors to serve this function effectively, it is important 
that they receive appropriate training. One needs to avoid 
either (1) neglecting those who could be helped by referrals 
(and these people may often deny their problems) or (2) 
sending people for help who do not need it. Many agencies, 
offering EAP services, will provide training workshops on how 
to identify and refer employees with problems. See Campbell 
(7) and Goodman (//) for more information about employee 
assistance programs for coal miners. 

Summary 

Supervisors have a primary role because they work directly 
with the miners and because they are involved in virtually any 
intervention. Supervisors may need some training and feedback 
in order to properly carry out these recommendations. 
Recommendations for Publicly Charting Attendance: 

• Charts should be filled out daily. 

• Publicly post charts where the crew can see them. 

• Make it easy for the supervisor to fill out the chart. 

• Inform the miners that the charts are not to show 
unexcused absences, but to show how well they are doing. 

• A month's worth of data is an appropriate time frame 
for each chart. 

Recommendations for Giving Reasonable Feedback: 

• Set the tone i.e., why attendance is important. 

• Communicate honestly avoiding value judgments. 

• Do not add punishments to the ones present in absen- 
teeism policy. 

• When the worker returns after an absence the supervi- 
sor should first welcome the employee back. 

• Remind employees of impending negative sanctions 
before the sanctions are applied. 

• Advise workers with attendance problems in private not 
in front of fellow workers. 

Referring employees with personal problems 

Some miners are frequently absent because of personal 
problems that are unrelated to the job. In such cases, it may 
help both employee and employer if these miners receive 
counseling or other assistance. Many agencies offer training 
for supervisors on how to identify employees with personal 
problems and how to motivate them to seek appropriate help. 

Positive Incentives 

If a problem still exists, as indicated by the ongoing 
attendance recording activity, the next step in the attendance 
promotion program is to implement a positive incentive sys- 
tem. There are a few things to remember about a positive 
incentive program. First, a criterion for success should be 
established. Workers need to have specific information on 
what will earn them the reward. It is in the best interest of the 
company and the worker to not make this criterion too 
difficult. For example, if workers are encouraged to attend 
work when they are actually sick, they may become more ill or 
help spread the illness among the healthy part of the work 
force. Moreover, making the criterion for success too high will 
cause the system to be less effective. 

Positive incentive programs require careful planning. Pos- 
itive incentive programs can be easy to implement and effec- 
tive, but if they are not planned and used correctly they will fail 
and could even cause other problems to arise. See Goodman 
(72) for a discussion of common inadequacies in the design of 
incentive plans for miners. 



18 



The following example of a positive incentive system used 
by a mine to increase safety illustrates some problems that may 
arise. A mine provided expensive awards to each member of a 
crew if no one in the crew suffered a lost time accident for a 
year. As a result, for the first 6 months there was a reduction 
in accidents. However, the rate of accidents increased sharply 
during the second 6 months. 

Why might something like this occur? The first part of the 
year the whole crew might have been more vigilant and more 
inclined to watch out for each other. But as the year went on, 
it was inevitable that a few accidents were bound to occur. 
After an accident occurred to anyone on a crew, the opportu- 
nity to earn the reward was removed for the entire crew. As the 
year progressed more and more crews became eliminated from 
the available rewards. Thus, the overall impact the rewards had 
on motivating safe behavior dwindled to almost nothing by the 
end of the first 6 months. It was not because positive incentives 
did not work, but because the system was structured so that 
over time the rewards were no longer available to the majority 
of the workforce. Here are some suggestions to consider when 
designing a positive incentive program for attendance. 

Size and Timing of Rewards 

Most research has shown that small rewards given fre- 
quently have more effect than large rewards given after a long 
period of time (Malott (30), Morse (33), Sulzer-Azaroff (48)). 
This suggests that giving a small reward, like a sticker or five 
dollars, every 2 months for not missing more than 1 day is 
better than giving a watch or 50 dollars for perfect attendance 
over a year. In a positive incentive program, the criterion for 
success should be within reach and the rewards given promptly. 
For example, if perfect attendance is required for 6 months 
then this will have no effect on a person who misses work the 
second day of the program. Furthermore, this program will 
only impact the few workers with good attendance and not the 
general population of miners. A better program will have an 
effect on a wider range of employees. 

A good way to administer a positive incentive system is by 
granting a reward or privilege each month for last month's 
attendance. This short time span increases a worker's oppor- 
tunities to succeed. It encourages good attendance at the start 
of each new month. The rewards or privileges will work best if 
they are considered small tokens of appreciation, that is, things 
that workers will not feel too badly about if missed for 1 
month. 

Choosing Criterion 

When setting the criterion for such a system, establish a 
baseline by counting days on the job over the preceding month 
or over the same time period a year ago and then use a slightly 
higher number of days as the goal. With this criterion, a chart 
of the total days on the job as seen in figure 7 can be useful. 

The chart in figure 7 has no data on the particular days 
when an employee is absent or on the job. The supervisor 
simply puts an "X" over the workers name if present that day. 
A criterion line is present to show if a worker achieves the goal 
for that month. By looking at the chart on any day a worker 
can see graphically how close he or she is to the goal by the 
spaces between the last "X" and the criterion line. This chart 
might be used in conjunction with the days actually attended 
as described in the discussion of supervisory intervention. 

In order for an incentive to effectively motivate, it is 
critical that employees have some amount of control over the 
performance required to attain the reward. Lawler (27) argues 
that the more control the employee has over achieving the 



performance level required to receive the reward, the greater is 
the reward's motivating power. Therefore, a positive incentive 
program that makes each employee's reward contingent on the 
basis of one's own attendance record will be more effective 
than a program that makes each employee's reward contingent 
on the basis of the overall crew's level of attendance. 8 

Rewarding a high frequency of on the job behavior, with 
a bonus, may change the employee's focus from meeting a 
minimum acceptable standard to the goal of exemplary atten- 
dance. It will also eliminate some of the tricky evaluations of 
excused versus unexcused absences. Using frequency of atten- 
dance, with no other criterion, allows for the consistent 
administration of the program. 

Choosing Reward 

The type of reward used in the program will have a large 
impact on the outcome of the program. There is an important 
difference between the terms reward and reinforcer. The term 
reward has been used to indicate something offered or given 
for some service or attainment. The definition says nothing 
about the behavior one would be interested in increasing (in 
this case, attendance). A reward may be given to show 
gratitude for a job well done with no concern for future 
behavior. On the other hand, a reinforcer is a stimulus which 
increases future probability of the behaviors it follows. If a 
reward is given that does not increase attendance behavior 
(when it is appropriately applied) then that reward is not a 
reinforcer. If this happens, one should consider changing the 
reward to something that will increase the desired behavior. 

Here are three reasons why a particular reward may not 
function to reinforce a behavior. (1) Workers, who do not earn 
the reward, may tease the ones who do causing a loss of desire 
for the reward. 9 (2) Some miners may view the reward as a 
meaningless gratuity. A particular worker may just not value a 
reward even though others do. (3) After a person earns a 
particular reward, one may be satiated with that object and no 
longer desire it (e.g., if a person is not a collector, one can only 
use so many belt buckles). 

What are some of the rewards that could be used as 
reinforcers for good attendance? As mentioned before, small 
reinforcers given frequently have a larger impact on behavior 
than large reinforcers given infrequently. Here are some of the 
things that have been offered to employees us incentives for 
various achievements: stickers, patches, uuii caps, uclt buck- 
les, penknives, bonuses, public comrncnauuons, written com- 
mendations, certificates, and stock m i... ^umpany. Although 
all of these may be used as rewu.cj in positive incentive 
programs, privileges may serve betici ui lcmiorcers because 
satiation is not as much of a problem u-s-» a number of belt 
buckles may accumulate, but eacn wcck the right to ao 
something in a preferred way is used up,*. 

How might some of these privileges v>urk? One might, ior 
example, give an employee paid time on ai preierred times to 
reinforce good attendance. 10 The question mignt arise, why 
should one give a worker time off when thai is what the 



8 For some purposes (e.g., increasing productive , c .uu[j icvcl incentive plans 
for miners may be preferable to individual level pi_.._. uu^ Lontingencies m~, 
be useful where (1) the individual's level of pen. iumuu is hoi amenaolc 10 
measurement, (2) good measures of the group's pei c ... .nance are rcauiiy available 
(e.g., the tonnage produced by face crews during « ..cck), and (,.>> icaniwork is. 
needed to accomplish the goal, as group incentives nuj iiiitt grouy uonns aooui 
the importance of productivity and cooperation. 

9 Rothlesberger (43) landmark study at Western Eiecu'ic iiiuan-tes iiu» £ .oup 
norms can mitigate management's performance goals. 

10 Indeed, Goodman's (10) study suggests that most miners place a mgn vaiue 
on paid time off. Most of those interviewed said they would rather have more 
time off than more money. 



Total days on the job 



19 



Attendance days 



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Figure 7.— Attendance tally chart for the same period as figure 5. The horizontal line at 21 days indicates the criterion level. 



20 



program is trying to discourage? The answer is the purpose of 
the program is not merely to have higher attendance, but to 
have more predictable attendance so that absences can be 
planned for and will therefore not be as disruptive. 

Most managers want attendance patterns that help them 
achieve a higher level of production, efficiency, and better 
safety. If it is known in advance that a person will be off the 
job because of a bonus day, one has a better chance of getting 
an experienced replacement for the absent miner. One should 
make provisions to spell off workers who hold critical jobs. In 
this regard, days when absences are liable to be high anyway 
(e.g., hunting season, fishing season, or holiday seasons) may 
be designated as bonus days for exemplary attendance rates at 
other times of the year. Similarly, extended vacation periods or 
the right to leave work early, where feasible, can have a positive 
impact on attendance behavior. 

Finally, since everyone has different values and needs, 
miners might choose from a personal incentive menu. Points 
might be earned and later exchanged for any number of things 
or privileges according to the miner's own particular desires. 

Scheduling Reward 

It is also very important how the rewards are delivered and 
made available. In order for a reward to be an effective 
reinforcer of a high rate of attendance, the reward must be 
given contingent upon that behavior. This means if a bonus is 
used to increase attendance, then a high rate of attendance 
must first occur before the bonus is given. To ensure that a 
particular reward is contingent upon the desired behaviors, one 
must (1) be explicit in the criterion that will earn the reward 
and (2) give the reward soon after the behavior of interest. 

Giving rewards every day as the miner comes to work is 
not usually possible. But, some sort of indicator of progress 
toward the reward can be given immediately on a daily basis. 
This is one of the reasons the charts and graphs described 
above are of such importance. Every time a person comes to 
work a tick mark is placed above one's name and the progress 
toward the attendance goal that will earn a specified reward 
can be seen. Thus, charts or point systems can be used as small 
immediate consequences for desired behaviors. This helps to 
bridge the gap in time between behaviors and the receipt of 
rewards, and is important even if the time between behavior 
and reinforcement is only a week. The public display of 
attendance data can be a valuable aid to miners interested in 
meeting the established criterion. Anything that can be done to 
help them see progress toward their goal will be useful. 

Vacation days must be treated carefully when implement- 
ing a positive incentive program. Taking these days is certainly 
the miners' right, but a last-minute decision to take a vacation 
can be as disruptive as an unanticipated absence. To reduce 
this problem, a time criterion for vacation days can be 
established. Vacation days, if approved a specific period of 
time in advance, might be treated the same as a day on the job 
for the purposes of the incentive plan. Using this method, a 
vacation day not approved in advance would not count toward 
the good attendance bonus, although it would still officially be 
an excused absence. In a similar vein, an absence due to illness 
would also be considered to be an excused absence, but would 
not count toward the attendance bonus. This system would 
allow for vacation days, while keeping the integrity of the 
attendance incentive plan intact. 

After a positive incentive program is in effect it is 
important to look at the data for changes, which may not have 
been anticipated. It is impossible to know all of the ramifica- 
tions a priori for a particular site. In the examples given above, 
the total number of days of attendance was used as a criterion 
for earning the reward. Workers might start scheduling their 



absences around blocks of time so that they maximize the 
times they can earn the rewards. These unanticipated changes 
may or may not be useful to the mining operation. Therefore, 
when a program is established, first allow some time to let any 
imposed variability in the rates of attendance stabilize. Then, 
examine the data carefully for unanticipated changes in atten- 
dance patterns. Adjustments may need to be made to the 
system if these unanticipated changes are counterproductive. 
There are several design aspects to consider when incor- 
porating positive incentives into the absence control program: 

• Design the system to help you reach the attendance 
goals you want. Establish a specific criterion of success for 
earning the reward. 

• Find a baseline by looking at the data from last month 
or the same time period a year ago. 

• A system that rewards small, but significant gains is 
more likely to succeed than one which attempts to get perfect 
attendance. 

• Use small rewards frequently, say on a monthly basis. 

• In order to provide for some immediate reinforcement, 
use charts to show daily attendance. 

• If a reward is given that does not increase attendance 
then that reward is not a reinforcer for attendance. Change it 
to something that will increase attendance. 

• Using unadjusted attendance rates helps remove ambi- 
guities about the meaning of the numbers. This allows for a 
more consistent administration of the program. 

• Some possible rewards that could be used as reinforcers 
for good attendance include: stickers, patches, ball caps, belt 
buckles, penknives, public commendations, written commen- 
dations, certificates, stock in the company, money, and 
privileges. 

• Privileges, like paid time off, have the advantage that 
they must be earned anew each month. 

RECYCLE 

The last stage in this program is to recycle. Recycling 
means to look at what is happening and evaluate the effective- 
ness of the program. If goals are not being met or if unex- 
pected counterproductive behaviors have emerged, then 
changes need to be made. If goals are on target then make sure 
that the supervisory staff keeps administering the program 
consistently. This stage of the program is important since it will 
help the attendance promotion program to evolve to fit 
particular needs of specific sites. It will also help maintain 
gains from the intervention. If an absenteeism committee was 
formed, it should be involved in this recycling and evaluation 
process. 

To recycle, take an in-depth look at the entire system, the 
policies, absenteeism problem, goals, data, and views of 
workers. Go back to stage one and check each stage to see if 
anything can be improved. In order to get a more thorough 
analysis of what is going on with respect to the absenteeism 
program, one might perform a linear modeling procedure. For 
details on the specifics of such a procedure see the appendix to 
this report. 

In this in-depth review one should look at some critical 
questions. For example: Have positive changes occurred due to 
interventions? Can more gains be realized? Is the system being 
followed by supervisors? If the answer to the last question is 
yes then reward the supervisors. 

If the supervisors are not following the system then 
consider these suggestions. First, if the supervisors are not 
effective get them to be consistent with the program. For 
example, set up a system to monitor their behavior and reward 



21 



the supervisors for staying with the plan. Second, find out if 
the goals are reasonable. The goals may not be stated in terms 
of benefit for the organization and the worker. In the latter 
case, review the goals and make sure they are reasonable. 

However, if these supervisors, who are not following the 
attendance program's procedures, are effective in promoting 
the type of attendance desired then consider incorporating 
their practices into the formal program. In any case, involve 
the supervisors in the decisions about the policies. 

Other questions worth looking at include: Is the data 
being collected relevant? Does it measure a critical element of 
the goal? Does the type of data display help one see gains? Is 
it easy for the supervisors to collect and display data? Is the 
system working with some populations or crews and not with 
others? If so, why? Are the rewards in the positive incentive 
program functioning as reinforcers for high attendance rates? 
Are rewards being conferred appropriately for the system to 
work effectively? 

The system should be recycled on a regular basis. If 
anomalies start to show up in the daily recording and display 
then the system should be recycled to head off a possible 



problem. About 3 months after any change to the system, 
recycle to see the effects of these efforts. If things are working, 
one should still recycle through the program on an annual 
basis. This will ensure gains are maintained and the system is 
working. For the most effective use of the program, ensure that 
it is applied consistently and allowed to undergo adaptive 
changes when it is recycled. 

The following considerations are recommended as part of 
the recycling phase of the absence control program: 

• Recycling means to evaluate the program and correct 
any problems. 

• Recycling is important since it helps the program adapt 
to fit the needs of the particular site, and it helps maintain the 
gains. 

• Recycle on a regular basis: 

1. If the daily recording of attendance data shows a 
potential problem. 

2. About 3 months after a change to the system. 

3. If things are working, recycle through the program on 
an annual basis. This will ensure that the system is consistently 
applied and keeps working properly. 



SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 



The major determinants of job attendance appear to vary 
significantly from one group of miners to another. Therefore, 
before adopting a plan for increasing attendance at a particu- 
lar mine site, one should try to identify the major reasons for 
absenteeism at that mine. Three general areas for improving 
attendance are improving employment procedures; overcoming 
problems that make employees unable to attend work; and 
increasing employees' motivation to attend work. 

With regard to employment procedures, research suggests 
that employers should attempt to review prospective mine 
employees' past attendance records before making a hiring 
decision. It may also be advisable to give prospective mine 
employees a realistic job preview before offering them employ- 
ment, especially if they are to work underground. 

When employees are unable to attend work, it is usually 
because they are experiencing one of the following: a physical 
or mental health problem, an injury, or a transportation 
problem. It has been estimated that from one-half to two- 
thirds of all absenteeism is due to illnesses. In order to reduce 
the amount of time lost because of miners illnesses, employers 
should consider providing miners with information about the 
importance of good health and how to achieve it. It may also 
be advisable to offer certain types of medical services (e.g., 
influenza vaccinations). Mental health problems can often be 
dealt with successfully by referring troubled employees to an 
EAR To reduce the amount of time lost because of work- 
related injuries, one should attempt to find out what is causing 
them, and then take appropriate countermeasures to prevent 
them. 

Employers who wish to increase mine employees' motiva- 
tion to attend work should consider doing the following: give 
supervisors training on how they should respond to employee's 
absences; give miners periodic training on the company's 
policies concerning absenteeism and how good attendance is 
necessary for the mine to be operated in a safe and profitable 
manner; post attendance information; enrich (redesign) jobs 
to increase employee involvement; provide some remuneration 
for unused sick leave, and provide incentives (both rewards and 
negative sanctions) that are based on job attendance. 

A program for improving miners' attendance was de- 
scribed that has the following four stages: (1) measure and 



display data, (2) state goals and absenteeism policy, (3) develop 
and implement attendance promotion program, and (4) 
recycle. 

The first stage, measure and display attendance data, was 
described as a prerequisite to any of the other stages. It is a 
continuous process during the entire program. 

The next stage, stating the goals and the absenteeism 
policy, is considered important as it informs workers of what is 
expected and of impending changes. This information can 
positively impact attendance and can help the rest of the 
program to succeed. During this stage, goals are set with 
respect to attendance. The absenteeism policy statement 
should be precise and understandable. It should explain what 
absences are excusable, the procedures for reporting off, and 
the negative sanctions for violating the rules. 

Developing and implementing an attendance promotion 
program is the stage where attendance improvement strategies 
are tried. Two strategies that appear to hold much promise for 
improving miners' attendance motivation are (1) supervisory 
interventions and (2) incentive programs. 

An immediate supervisor can facilitate better attendance 
by: publicly charting attendance, treating absent workers 
reasonably, and referring employees who may have off-the-job 
problems. 

A positive incentive program needs to have a criterion for 
success, which is within reach. In establishing this criterion, it 
helps to review attendance rates during prior time periods. 
Small rewards given frequently will have more effect than large 
rewards given after a long period of time. Rewards should be 
chosen that will reinforce attendance. Charts can be used to 
help bridge the gap in time between behaviors and the receipt 
of rewards. 

The last stage in this program is to recycle. Recycling 
means to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and make 
needed changes. The system should be recycled on an annual 
basis unless changes are made to the system or some irregu- 
larities in the data suggest a problem is developing. Recycling 
will ensure that the system is working as planned, the program 
is tailored to the specific needs of the mine, and gains are 
maintained. 



22 



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23 



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24 



APPENDIX.— LINEAR MODELING: STATISTICAL ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT TOOL 



This report has detailed several methods that can be used 
to improve attendance. Aside from theoretical assurances that 
these methods ought to work, a manager also needs to have 
tools for objectively assessing the effectiveness of a specific 
implementation in a specific mining situation. An obvious first 
approach might be to implement a new program (e.g., atten- 
dance bonuses) and compare the attendance rates before and 
after the change. If the rates after the change are higher, the 
implementation has been effective. Likewise, if rates are the 
same or worse, the program has been ineffective. 

Unfortunately, this simple approach has several potential 
flaws. First, it doesn't account for other things that may affect 
attendance. Second, even if all of the things known to affect 
attendance could be accounted for, there are still random 
fluctuations over time. This becomes a problem in evaluating 
a small change in attendance rates. Was the change significant 
and likely to persist, or was it nothing more than an ordinary 
random fluctuation? 

An effective and relatively simple way to address these 
problems is to use statistical modeling techniques drawn from 
management science. This approach has been shown to be an 
effective way to manage a mining crew's productivity (P), 1 and 
it can be readily adapted to managing attendance. The method 
is actually simpler than it sounds. It is merely a way to 
simultaneously assess the relative influences of all of the 



1 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references preceding 
the appendix. 



factors likely to influence an important outcome (e.g., produc- 
tion, accidents, or attendance). For instance, figure A-l shows 
a hypothetical mine's attendance patterns over about 6 months 
(128 days). As indicated on the graph, several significant events 
occurred during this period. Hunting season was open during 
part of the period, and there was also a heavy snowstorm that 
overlapped part of the hunting season. The management at 
this mine had instituted a new incentive program designed to 
improve attendance about 1 month into the period and would 
like to know how well it worked. 

As the graph shows, attendance rates under the new plan 
were sometimes higher and sometimes lower than before. As 
you might expect, the lowest points were during hunting 
season and the snowstorm because, as this report has previ- 
ously shown, off-the-job recreation and transportation prob- 
lems are two frequent causes of absenteeism. 

SETTING UP DATA 

Two types of data are used for this modeling approach: 
data on inputs and outputs. In this case, the output data is 
simply the number of miners working on a given day. The 
inputs are factors that are expected to affect overall atten- 
dance. The choice of data to include as inputs should be 
guided in part by the discussion at the beginning of this report 
concerning motivational and ability factors that have been 
shown to cause absences. Not only should the input data be 



DAILY ATTENDANCE 



120 



110 



100 - 



70 - 



60 



KEY 

Actual 
Predicted 



New bonus plan 



Hunting 
season 




J I I L 



J I I L 



10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 

DAY 



Figure A-1.— Daily mine attendance fluctuations for statistical attendance modeling example. 



25 



plausibly linked to absenteeism, it should also be readily 
available and easy to measure. Table A-l shows the types of 
data that can be used and some suggested sources. For the best 
results, several variables should be selected from the list to 
measure miners motivation to attend as well as their perceived 
ability to attend. 

Table A-1 .—Suggested sources of data for statistical 
attendance control 



Variable name 

Attendance motivation: 
Overall satisfaction 



Examples of data sources 



Supervisors' daily report: Equipment 

downtime, working conditions. 
Periodic interviews. 
Grievances. 

Amount paid in incentives. 
Shift rotation schedule. 

Desire to avoid income loss Local unemployment rate. 

Mining industry employment. 
Desire to perform off-the-job Day of the week. 

activities Closeness to holiday. 

Hunting season. 

Job involvement Periodic interviews. 

Distributive justice Do. 

Attendance norms Do. 

Personal work ethic Do. 

Perceived ability to attend: 

Transportation problems Storms. 

Transportation strikes. 

Health status Miners' age. 

Availability-use of health programs. 

Safety Accident records. 

Supervisors' daily report: safety 
conditions, roof-rib-floor problems, 
gas. 

For this example, only three variables were selected; 
implementation of an attendance bonus plan, hunting season, 
and delays owing to machine downtime. All three of these 
variables are aspects of a miner's motivation to attend work. 
The attendance bonus should increase the attractiveness of 
coming to work while excessive equipment downtime has been 
shown to be a common source of frustration that reduces the 
attractiveness of work. Hunting is a popular activity in many 
mine communities and reduces attendance by drawing miners 
away from work. Hence, our three variables represent a 
motivational pull towards attendance (bonus), a push away 
from attendance (delays), and a pull away from attendance 
(hunting). In real applications, several additional variables 
should be added, particularly from the list of ability factors 
(transportation problems, health, and safety). 



ESTIMATING MODEL 

The statistical technique used to model the effects of the 
input variables on attendance is called multiple linear regres- 
sion. Even a simple regression involves such a large number of 
calculations that it has only become a practical tool with the 
advent of modern computers. Fortunately, regression software 
is readily and inexpensively available for even the smallest 
popular personal computers. The analysis for this example was 
performed on a microcomputer using the popular Lotus 
1-2-3 2 general purpose spreadsheet software, although doz- 
ens of other programs would have worked just as well. 



2 Reference to specific products does not imply endorsement by the Bureau of 
Mines. 



In any regression program, the analyst must define the 
input variables (sometimes called independent variables) as 
well as the daily attendance (the dependent variable, in this 
case). The regression then determines a mathematical function 
of input variables that best fits their relationship to the 
dependent variable. Table A-2 shows how the information on 
inputs and attendance for a 125 -day period at the hypothetical 
mine were tabulated in preparation for the analysis. The 
attendance numbers were entered into a column with parallel 
columns for the three input variables. The input variables for 
the bonus plan and hunting season take on values of either 1 or 
0. This is a numbering system that should be used when 
dealing with conditions that either exist or do not exist. For 
instance, there either is a bonus plan (with this condition 
coded as 1) or there is not (coded as 0). Variables that can take 
on a range of values, such as minutes of machine delay, should 
be used directly. Likewise, the bonus variable could be coded 
as the amount of money offered (if it is a cash bonus system) 
so that several levels of bonuses could be compared. 



INTERPRETING RESULTS 

Among the output from the regression program (fig. A-2) 
are two types of numbers that are of particular importance. 
First, the R 2 (R-squared) is a number between and 1 that 
indicates how strongly the input and output variables are 
related. An R 2 of 1 indicates a perfect correlation and reflects 
no detectable correlation. In actual practice, higher numbers 
for R 2 are better, but it is unlikely that any model based on 
actual data will approach a value of 1. A good rule of thumb 
for an attendance model is to attain an R 2 of 0.5 or greater. 
The model calculated in our example achieved a relatively high 
R 2 of 0.64 indicating that the input variables accounted for 64 
pet of the variation in attendance. 

The second group of numbers to use from the regression 
output are the regression coefficients. There will be one of 
these numbers for each of the input variables and they indicate 
the independent effects of changes in the input variable on 
attendance. In the hypothetical example, the coefficients for 
the bonus plan, hunting season, and machine delays were 
approximately 11, - 18, and -0.03 respectively. This indicates 
that the bonus plan actually resulted in an increase in atten- 
dance of 1 1 miners per day and that the hunting season and 
machine delays had the expected negative effects on atten- 
dance. 

The beneficial impact of the bonus plan might have been 
obscured by the other fluctuations in attendance if a more 
simple analysis had been performed. The average attendance 
for the period after the new plan was instituted had increased 
by approximately seven miners per day. It is quite obvious that 
the effect was diminished by the well-known effects of hunting 
season and machine delays, but the use of the model shows 
more precisely how large these effects were. The coefficient for 
the bonus plan indicates that it actually seems to have resulted 
in improved attendance of 1 1 miners per day. The difference 
between attendance improvements of 7 or 11 miners may be 
significant enough to affect a judgement of the value of the 
bonus plan. This modeling approach can provide the manager 
with better, more accurate information about attendance — 
information that can lead to better attendance management 
decisions. 

This appendix has only scratched the surface of possible 
applications of statistical modeling to attendance. For a more 
complete discussion of applied regression, a number of basic 
textbooks are available (e.g., 35 and 55). 



26 



Table A-2.— Data used in attendance modeling example 



Day 


Attendance 


Bonus 
plan 


Hunting 
season 


Machine 
delay 


Day 


Bonus Hunting 
Attendance plan season 


Machine 
delay 


1 


91 








84 


64 


96 


1 


79 


2 


76 








84 


65 


102 


1 


68 


3 


83 








103 


66 


91 


1 


67 


4 


90 








75 


67 


100 


1 


107 


5 


75 








65 


68 


97 


1 


101 


6 


89 








83 


69 


94 


1 


74 


7 


92 








111 


70 


86 


1 


101 


8 


85 








89 


71 


87 


1 


69 


9 


76 








103 


72 


93 


1 


91 


10 


88 








77 


73 


69 




89 


11 


79 








69 


74 


79 




94 


12 


82 








113 


75 


82 




103 


13 


79 


















76 
78 
102 
97 
65 
82 


76 

77 

78 

79 

80 

81 


83 

67 

72 

85 

72 

76 




69 


14 


77 


80 


15 


80 


66 


16 


91 


72 


17 


76 


100 


18 


75 


120 


19 


87 










111 
72 


82 

83 


84 

71 




114 


20 


77 


116 


21 


85 








74 


84 


76 




98 


22 


85 








77 


85 


66 




119 


23 


98 







65 


86 


79 




97 


24 


96 







73 


87 


75 




116 


25 


96 







105 


88 


77 




117 


26 


88 







75 


89 


78 




95 


27 


97 







105 


90 


82 




100 


28 


101 







76 


91 


82 




107 


29 


87 







93 


92 


81 




71 


30 


91 







104 


93 


74 




100 


31 


94 







78 


94 


66 




71 


32 


95 







87 


95 


66 




103 


33 


97 







74 


96 


102 


1 


104 


34 


88 







70 


97 


89 


1 


105 


35 


100 







72 


98 


91 


1 


87 


36 


94 







113 


99 


94 


1 


103 


37 


88 







90 


100 


102 


1 


93 


38 


94 

92 








65 
74 


101 


91 


1 
1 


93 


39 


102 


92 


116 


40 


88 







116 


103 


92 


1 


114 


41 


97 







70 


104 


98 


1 


84 


42 


91 

85 








76 
113 


105 


91 


1 
1 


72 


43 


106 


101 


101 


44 ... 


95 

96 









111 
66 


107 


83 


1 
1 


113 


45 


108 


86 


104 


46 


99 







67 


109 


95 


1 


85 


47 ... 


103 

89 








77 
83 


110 


89 


1 
1 


77 


48 


111 


86 


115 


49 


97 







104 


112 


95 





99 


50 


102 







96 


113 


87 





107 


51 


102 







77 


114 


84 





79 


52 


89 







83 


115 


98 





88 


53 


93 







100 


116 


97 


1 


100 


54 


103 







74 


117 


89 





98 


55 


97 







95 


118 


87 





76 


56 


97 







85 


119 


90 





108 


57 


97 







90 


120 


91 





77 


58 


87 







70 


121 


95 





82 


59 


96 







110 


122 


90 





104 


60 


97 




o 


69 


123 


89 





119 


61 


96 




o 


79 


124 


83 





112 


62 


98 




o 


97 


125 


101 





113 


63 


90 







82 











27 



Average before change: 


82.64 


Average after change: 


89.57 


Average difference: 


6.94 


Regression Output: 




Constant 


84.87452 


Std Err of Y Est 


5.547504 


R Squared 


0.637926 


No. of Observations 


125 


Degrees of Freedom 


121 



X Coefficient(s) 
Std Err of Coef. 



11.01826143 -17.6424 -0.02605 
1.341325900 1.327857 0.031116 



Figure A-2.— Computer output from regression analysis of example data. 



U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 611-012/00,067 



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